Do you really need a laptop?

The only benefits of owning a laptop are portability and minimum space consumption in your home. However, a desktop PC for the same price will always be faster, quicker, bigger (in storage terms) and more flexible than any laptop. It will also be a lot easier to upgrade and repair in the future. If you want to play the latest games then forget laptop computing completely (unless you have over £2000 to spend!). Also, do you require a full blown laptop, new, cheap alternatives (called netbooks) now allow you to surf the internet, type a letter and use email with ease. If this is all you are going to use, then save yourself some money and look at a netbook.

These are the things to consider when purchasing a Laptop

Memory, Memory, and more Memory - Most lower-priced notebooks are sold with 512MB - 1GB of system memory (RAM). If you use your notebook for occasional typing and web browsing you could get by with of 512MB - 1GB RAM but you would probably be much happier with 2 GBs especially if you are using Windows Vista. Power users should try to get a notebook with at least 4 GB or more. It is very important that the memory is purchased when you buy the computer as many notebooks have only one or two memory expansion slots and you will wind up throwing away the old memory when you upgrade.

Batteries - Lithium batteries are superior to other kinds. The typical full size laptop will run between 1-2 hours on its battery. Some laptops can run between 6-8 hours on their batteries. If long battery life is important to you, enquire about battery life before you purchase your laptop. Remember that batteries are classed as 'consumables' and they will rarely last out more than 3 years of use. Replacements are around £50 to £100, but all laptops will run off the mains without a battery (though defeats the portability options a bit)

Hard Drives - 80 GB minimum. Of course, larger is better. SATA drives are standard now, and speeds below 7200rpm should be avoided.

CD-RW/DVD-RW - These drives are standard on almost all notebooks. Obviously the DVD drive is more desirable because it can hold more data and play DVD movies. DVD movie performance will depend on the speed and video performance of the laptop.

Wired and Wireless LAN - All new laptops should have a local area network (LAN) port for plugging into a wired network.
In addition all new notebooks should have wireless network capabilities. New wireless notebooks will be able to use the highest wireless speed available which is termed "wireless N". Some notebooks are still being made with the older wireless B/G capability.

Video Memory and Screen Resolution - The screen resolution of any notebook or desktop computer is a function of the graphics adapter, amount of Video RAM available, the size (pixel density) of the screen shown (e.g. 640x480), and the number of colors used. These screen features are loosely defined by the type of output the screen can produce. Most laptops have 'built in' graphics, but you should still look for DirectX 9 or 10 support and at least 128mb memory. Watch out for graphic chips that 'share' main memory, as these take that memory away from the computer, and so decrease performance.

Final Advice

The brand of the laptop is the most important thing. This determines the quality of the computer, warranty, and parts availability. My main brand suggestions are Dell, Sony, Toshiba, or ACER (for budget). If you buy a laptop from one of these companies it should be a good product.

It would help if you try some laptops out to determine which features you like. Screen size and clarity, keyboard feel, pointing device, and weight, are all decision factors when buying a laptop.

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